Page:Eight Friends of the Great - WP Courtney.djvu/46

 26 les plus humbles à V : M : imp : et celui de l'assurer que nous sommes avec le plus profond respect, Madame, de Votre Majesté Impériale, lles très humbles et très obéissants Serviteurs

(sic) Londres, ce 17me Janvier, 1793.

The empress did not avail herself of this offer and Sir Joshua's collection of 411 pictures was sold by Christie in March 1795, when an interesting preface, signed by Burke, Malone and Metcalfe, was prefixed. It set out that

Executors."

When sir Joshua's collection "of ancient drawings, scarce prints and books of prints," were sold by H. Phillips